January 12, 2017
It is with heavy hearts we want to share that last night we had to say goodbye to Waldo, our beloved educational Woodchuck.
Waldo joined the Wildlife In Need Center staff back in the summer of 2008 as a young Woodchuck that had been raised by a couple who had found him orphaned. Unfortunately, having been raised alone by people, he became imprinted or too tame to be released into the wild so he found his forever home with us here at WINC. In his over 8 years with our center Waldo has reached over 200,000 people in the community. Throughout those years, Waldo has helped people gain an appreciation for their local herbivore wildlife neighbors, who have a positive impact on their environment and ecosystems. Waldo has also been the star of many Groundhog Day events, stealing the hearts of people of all ages!
Back in September we found Waldo had a severe tooth infection, which is not uncommon with rodents of his age. He has been on medication to help fight the infection. Over the last couple of months Waldo began to show more signs of his old age including arthritis, so he was given more medication to keep him comfortable. Early yesterday Waldo had a trip to our vet scheduled (for a checkup) and we discovered that Waldo had developed pneumonia. We did not want Waldo to suffer with any respiratory distress, along with everything else that has been going on at his old age.
As a staff we were all able to say good bye to Waldo last night, while he was home (here at WINC). We are heart broken, but so thankful and grateful for how lucky we were to have him as a colleague for over 8 amazing years – Thank you Waldo for everything you did as a wonderful, goofy, lovable, unforgettable animal ambassador at the Wildlife In Need Center. 
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